Welcome to the Martinsville wrap up. Where victory lane goes up in smoke, a 5 time champ does the right thing, a wild card goes for a spin, we're crying over spilled Crown Royal and M&M's, the question appears to Black Flag or not to Black Flag and things are looking up for our Dega odd man out. 

ESPN - First things first.  ESPN obviously has some one with A.D.D. running that channel. There's way too much going on about the future and not enough about the now. Way too much pop ups glopping up the screen. They can run baseball, NFL, etc scores on the bottom of the screen all race long and through the commercials and instant replays but can't keep the driver leader board up and scrolling. Racing except for the cautions is non stop. Position changes are going on constantly. They don't have a down or a hit or a play and then go to a time out to confer on what we do next. It's sad that I have to listen to the radio broadcast at the same time as watching the race to keep track. ESPN needs to get it together when it comes to broadcasting. Will we have to have an Occupy ESPN to get their attention on just how bad their broadcast is? Nuff said, onward and upward.

STARTING POSITIONS - Qualifying was rained out so they lined up as they are in the points. Edwards Pole Position - Kenseth 2nd - Keselowski 3rd - Stewart 4th - Harvick 5th - Ky Busch 6th - Johnson 7th - Ku Busch 8th - Earnhardt Jr 9th - Gordon 10th - Hamlin 11th - Newman 12th

RYAN NEWMAN - During the lap 65 caution Newman decides not to pit so he can lead and collect that bonus point. He leads more laps through another caution on lap 105 and decides to pit. He's in 23rd on the restart and makes his way to 13th by lap 138, 9th by lap 147. A caution on lap 150 comes out and Newman again leads. He drifts back to 13th again and this is where he stays for the rest of the race. He manages to get 10th in the end. He stays in 12th place in the standings.

DENNY HAMLIN - Our Dega odd man out had a great day despite a caution on lap 8 where Jr decided to squeeze in between the curb and Kurt Busch. He ran out of room and spins out himself, Kurt, Gordon, Hamlin, Vickers, Allmendinger and Skinner. Hamlin goes in for tires and tape on the nose of the car. Comes out in 27th. Another caution on lap 27 and Hamlin stays out of the pits to now be in 9th on the restart. Another caution on lap 46 and he's 5th on the restart. Lap 65 Hamlin takes the lead. For the rest of the day he rides around in the top 10 leading laps at different times and brings it home with a 5th place finish. He's still 11th in the point standings but a major improvement in results.

JEFF GORDON - On lap 8 he's caught up in the spin that Jr created fighting over a spot. He's got front end damage. A nice heavy mallet and 4 tires takes care of the issue. He goes in again to makes sure air in getting into his radiator and to cool his brakes. He complains of possible over heating around lap 27 and drops back into the 20's. At the lap 72 restart he's in 7th but drops back to the 20's again. By lap 147 he's peaking into the top 10 once again and his over heating issues seem to have faded away. On lap 235 it's Gordon to the lead. At lap 248 he puts Edwards down a lap. And again on lap 314. He spends the rest of the day in the top 5 and brings it home in 3rd. He's still 10th in the points.

DALE EARNHARDT JR - Says he has a hot rod today and expects a great finish. He almost finished his day on lap 8 with a spin out that took out 6 other drivers and himself. On the restart he's in 31st. Three cautions later and Jr has made his way to 2nd. On lap 150 he punts Joey Logano who bounces off the wall to bring out a caution. He does start dropping back to 21st and then clawing his way to the top 10 again around lap 194. On the last restart on lap 4 Jr runs into the back of Hamlin who runs into the back of Keselowski sending him spinning. Jr never leads a lap for the bonus point and brings it home 7th but stays in 9th in the standings.

KURT BUSCH- On lap 8 he's caught up in the spin Jr created when the two were fighting over position but comes out pretty clean. After the next caution he starts in 5th. He's complaining about handling issue in the transition from asphalt to concrete (there are patches of concrete in the asphalt) and that he also hates this track. He starts dropping. On the lap 112 restart he's back to 30th. On the lap 156 restart he's clawed his way back up to 10th. He drops back to 19th and goes down a lap around lap 322. A caution on lap 398 for Kurt turning Jeff Burton around gives Kurt the wave around. On lap 432 Kurt and Paul Menard get together and spin. Kurt now has heavy front and back end damage. He's around 20th now. He manages to stay on the lead lap and bring it home in 14th and never leads a lap. Still 8th in the points. 

KYLE BUSCH - A wild ride for this guy. On lap 52 restart he's leading. Falls back a bit due to all the cautions and pitting strategies going on but is right back up to take the lead by lap 118 again which he keeps til lap 235 when Gordon moves out front. Kyle stays in the top 5 till lap 464 when he's caught up in a wreck with Kenseth and Montoya. Heavy damage all around. His crew chief is trying to get repairs done under caution and as the pace car comes around orders are given to drop the jack and for Kyles to go around and come back in. This would've been ok but the lug nuts weren't tightened on the left front tires and he loses the tire at the exit to pit road and has to go around the track on 3 tires and a piece of metal. He limps around the last laps. Kyle ends his day in 27th and 7 laps down to drops one position to 7th place in the standings. Consolation? He did lead the most laps.

JIMMIE JOHNSON - An uneventful day for our 5 time champ hanging around the top 5 most of the day. He leads laps and at the last restart he and Stewart are side by side and Jimmie has the chance to shove Stewart up the track and out of the way for the win. He chooses not to and ends his day in 2nd. When asked why he didn't fight Stewart more he said it wasn't the right thing to do and it's not his style to run over some one for a position. Class act if you ask me. Jimmie moves up one position to 6th in the standings.

KEVIN HARVICK - He manages to hang around 10th most of the day. On the restart on lap 404 his out front. There's a caution and another restart on lap 412. Stewart takes the lead from him but not without some beatin' and bangin' contact. On lap 414 Biffle goes around and backs into the wall. Stewart gives up the lead to Harvick for tires. Harvick out front for lap 419 restart. Another caution on lap 432 for Kurt Busch spinning out. Still in the lead for lap 434 restart. With 63 to go Johnson takes the lead from Harvick and he gets dropped back to 6th. He fights his way back to a 4th place finish. This gives him a 2 spot gain to 3rd in the standings.

TONY STEWART - Sorry folks but I can't do the objective writer thing here. This is my man and I'm doing my best Snoopy dance right now for his victory. He takes 2nd by lap 8 and on lap 31 during another caution he doesn't pit and takes the lead for that all important bonus point. But after that he starts dropping back. By lap 112 he's 7th, By lap 147 he's 11th. By lap 161 he's 18th. He's struggling with a bad handling car that won't turn. On his last pit stop they found that he used his right rear tire down to nothing after just 45 laps. Mean while Gordon has taken the lead and he's lapping the field one by one. By lap 320 Stewart is in 16th. On lap 348 Paul Menard is put down a lap by Hamlin who now leads. Guess who's next? Hamlins on his bumper and Stewart is fighting for his position. Hamlin just can't pass him. They get up to other traffic and now poor Mark Martin is being used as a shield to keep Hamlin at bay. Martin is hanging on as these 2 fight to keep him in the way and bump him out of the way at the same time. Hamlin still can't get by Stewart. They both pass Martin and next on the shield list for Stewart is Jeff Burton. Stewart keeps Burton pinned into position to keep Hamlin back. Finally on lap 361 David Guilliland has a flat tire and backs into the wall to bring out a lap saving caution for Stewart. From then on he's on a mission. Another caution later he's out of the pits in 3rd. On lap 413 Stewart takes the lead from Harvick but contact with Harvick puts him in the pits for Tires. He's worried some things broke and the car doesn't feel right. Crew chief says tires are fine that we took off. He's in 23rd on the restart, in 17th after another caution, and with 57 laps to go he fights to 11th. Another caution and he's in 3rd. Another caution and now a restart with 4 laps to go puts him beside Johnson who's in 1st. They're off. They wrestle for position but Johnson doesn't push him up into the wall and Stewart passes for the lead and on to the win. He moves from 4th to 2nd in the standings.

BRAD KESELOWSKI - Our wild card falls as far as 27th at one point but manages to stay in or around 10th staying out of trouble most of the day. He's got a pit road stall right at the speed timing line so he can pass one or 2 cars on pit road at a higher speed without getting docked for speeding if he slows down at the next timing line. Nifty trick. Keeps him passing cars in the pits for a better spot on the track. On the last restart with 4 laps to go he's in 8th. As they get going and fighting for position Jr shoves Hamlin into Keselowski and he spins out of line. This gives him a 17th place finish and he drops from 3rd to 4th in the standings.

MATT KENSETH - His day starts great as he takes the lead for the first lap. He's hanging between the top 5 or 10 for most of the race. Around lap 450 Kenseth and Brian Vickers are getting into each other right in front of Stewart. Kenseth finally tires of Vickers bumping and helps him into the wall on lap 457 for a caution. On the lap 464 restart Kenseth has to lock up the brakes enough to not hit any one and his tire goes. He takes out Kyle Busch and Jaun Montoya. Heavy damage to Kenseth's car sends him to the garage with a broken track bar. He comes home in 31st and 23 laps down. Which drops him from 2nd to 5th in the standings. 

CARL EDWARDS - Another scary day for our points leader. He takes the race lead at 5 laps in and keeps it till a caution on lap 27. And the problems begin as he is now 14th on the restart. By lap 82 he's 23rd. He manages a brief top 10 due to cautions and pit strategy but it soon goes bad. At lap 248 Gordon puts Edwards down a lap in 25th. He gets the lucky dog on lap 258 when Mark Martin spins and brings out the caution. On lap 300 he's the last car on the lead lap in 24th. At lap 314 he's a lap down again. Hermie Sadler goes around and brings out a caution on lap 408. Lucky Dog for Edwards. He's still back around 20th. On lap 428 Edwards is black flagged on a restart for not staying in position on the restart till he passes over the start/finish line for the first time. BUT the NASCAR decides he got back in line and took back the black flag. So I didn't see any replays so I can;t say. He's still 20th at this point. and needs adjustments on the car to turn better. Another caution and he now is in 13th. On the last restart he's 10th and is able to get one more spot to bring it home in 9th. He's still our points leader by 8 points.

STANDINGS - Edwards 2273 - Stewart 2265 - Harvick 2252 - Keselowski 3346 - Kenseth 2237 - Johnson 2230 - Ky Busch 2216 - Ku Busch 2215 - Earnhardt Jr 2200 - Gordon 2197 - Hamlin 2193 - Newman 2184

SUMMERY - This was one ugly beatin' and bangin' tight quarters make no friends race. Jr at one point said if they did more short tracks like this one that he might be known as a dirty driver cause it's just so easy to do. His car looked like it too. You couldn't read the number on the side of the car by half way through the race. They didn't get above 89 mph but the carnage factor was high. Brian Vickers in the #83 was in half of the 18 cautions. His car was a mangled mess but he managed to stay in it until 8 laps to go when he hit the wall for the last time bringing out the last caution of the day.

As far as the Chase goes, I'm thinking that it's between the top 4 guys now with Stewart and Edwards being the favorites. Edwards is hungry but I don't think he can put together 3 good finishes in a row. Stewart is a 2 time champ with way more years of experience. He said in victory lane about Edwards..."He better be worried. He ain't gonna have an easy 3 weeks". So the head games begin. Does Stewart 8 points back with 3 Chase race wins psych out Edwards? Do the HMS boys (Johnson, Gordon & Jr) along with his team mate Newman block and or help Stewart in some capacity to get that title? Does Keselowski pit strategy his way back in this title Chase? Is Harvick going to make that charge from so-so finishes to command the lead again in the points. I'm excited. I can't wait to see.

So next week on Nov 6th at 3pm we'll be at Texas Motor Speedway for the AAA Texas 500 in Fort Worth, Texas. It's a quad oval designed 1.5 mile track with 24 degree banking in the turns. Hamlin won the April and November races there last year. This year it was Kenseth in the April race. This is a good track for Edwards who has 3 wins here. So I certainly hope Stewart has some thing for these 3 guys. Just wish ESPN could get their act together.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day......

Whoa, hey, howdy doooooo and welcome to another Chase race wrap up. Talladega saw a 5 timers dream of 6 get shut down, the Busch Brothers got whacked, no date for the Dega prom, a nose out of joint, Ford gives orders to let a Chaser hang out to dry and 72 lead changes that let Talladega deliver an action packed, white knuckle edge of your seat ride. Being a points race we had drivers play it safe and drop to the back at the drop of the green flag to avoid trouble but this strategy bit them in the end. Some worse than others. With cautions falling where they did there wasn't enough time to get to the front. Pit stops were confusing because drivers actually waited for their tandem partners. Craziest pit road jockeying I've ever seen. The points take another shaking up and here we go.

STARTING POSITION - Edwards 9th - Harvick 13th - Kenseth 11th - Ky Busch 34 - Stewart 12th - Keselowski 16th - Ku Busch 14th - Johnson 2nd - Earnhardt Jr 6th - Newman 10th - Gordon 5th - Hamlin 31st

DENNY HAMLIN - This guy was a victim from start to finish. He practiced with Ryan Newman as his Partner because Tony Stewart said he wanted to find some one to hang in the back during the race. When he couldn't find one then Newman became Tony's partner effectively leaving Denny with no date to the Dega prom. By lap 21 Denny goes down a lap because he can't keep up with the pack without a dance partner. His description of the race......The best I can describe it is, we were stuck without a date for the prom, so I was just hitting on everyone's mom. A debris caution on lap 24 gives Denny the Lucky Dog Pass to the lead lap. Still no partner but he's side drafting off other cars to stay in the lead lap. Joey Logano spins out trying to make a green flag pit stop and misses pit road. His tire goes flat and tears up the fender bringing out the caution on lap 68. Kyle Busch says if Joey's car can be saved he still wants to be his partner even if he's laps down. Kyle and Denny end up together but there's communication issues. Kyle can talk to Denny but Denny can't talk back. On lap 96 the Kyle/Denny tandem take the lead for a lap. Lap 104 AJ Allmendinger loses control spinning down the track. Takes out Kyle and Denny is partnerless again. Denny asks AJ's partner Marcos Ambrose if he'll be his partner. Nope. Ford has given orders that Fords will only draft with Fords. He hooks up with Joey Logano for a bit and then Newman later on but finishes the race by himself in 8th. If he doesn't have a nobody loves me and I'm gonna eat some worms mentality by now I'd be surprised. Bonus...he's not last any more. He's 11th in the points and he finished 11th in the race. 

JEFF GORDON - His tandem partner is Mark Martin who got the pole for the race so at the green flag Martin and Gordon hook up and slowly drop to the back for safety reasons. The Martin/ Gordon Tandem make their way to the front a couple times to collect leading a lap bonus points and just to practice how they'll go about it at the end of the race. All is well Until lap 181 when Gordon has to check up to avoid Paul Menards bumper on the 10 to go restart. Martin loses control and goes into Regan Smith. Now Gordon is without a dance partner. He calls Trevor Bayne on the radio and talks about being dance partners. Trevor says yes and lines up on Gordons bumper for the restart with 3 laps to go. They worked together at Daytona and thought this would be a great chance to be together again. Imagine Gordons surprise when Trevor dumps him and goes with Matt Kenseth. Trevor Tweeted after the race that.....he'd rather pull over and finish last then be strong armed into bailing. So my question is....Why didn't he? Gordon finishes 27th because Ford gave Trevor orders to hang the Chevy driver out to dry. He stays in 10th in the points.

RYAN NEWMAN - Newman and Stewart hook up and Newman talks Stewart into staying up front to race. They're practicing dropping back and going forward. On lap 42 they get to the front and Newman moves over to give Stewart the chance to lead a lap for that all important bonus point. Doesn't quite work and they drop like a stone. On lap 46 they try it again. No dice and Clint Bowyer takes the lead with his tandem partner Jeff Burton. Again on lap 64 they try again and this time they time it right for Stewarts leading a lap bonus point. On lap 80 Newman gets a side draft off of David Reutimann that pushes him down onto the flat apron and then the grass. The grass tears up his front splitter. Stewart is now without a dance partner. He's now multiple laps down in 39th. He hooks up with Logano and Hamlin on different occasions. Finishes 38th and 17 laps down. Now he has the 12th spot in the standings.

TONY STEWART - Like stated above Stewart and Newman became tandem partners when Stewart couldn't find a partner to hang out in the back with him. This turned out to be a good thing for him. Stewart says he's to blame for Newmans spin but Reutimann was still way too close to Newmans door causing the side draft disturbance that sent him to the grass. Joey Logano is asked to be his partner and Stewart is now being pushed by a damaged left front fenderless Home Depot car. They do very well. With 88 laps to go they lead a few laps. With 52 laps to go they lead again and still out front with 32 to go. With 20 laps to go Stewart is separated from Logano and he winds up with Paul Menard who was Kevin Harvicks partner. With 13 laps to go the Stewart/ Menard tandem is in the lead. With 8 laps to go Regan Smith is in the wall and we are set up for a green/white checker. On the restart Brian Vickers launches into Bowyer who pushes his partner Burton out front. They take off and leave every one in the dust. Stewart brings it home in 7th with a bonus point for leading the most laps and one for leading a lap. He's up one spot to 4th in the standings 19 points from the lead.

DALE EARNHARDT JR and JIMMIE JOHNSON - It's the Johnson/Earbhardt tandem. They hook up and drop to the back for safety reason. Jr wants to be up front but defers to Johnson to decide what they'll do. After all he pushed Johnson to a victory at the spring Dega race so why would it be any different this time? On lap 78 Johnson pushes Jr into the lead and the crowd goes wild. They hang around the teens at mid pack for awhile and then drop to the 20's. On lap 163 Andy Lally spins out and hits Johnson's right side door. Minimal damage. Just needs tires and a grill cleaning. The Jr/ Johnson tandem is still in tact. They're in 13th and 15th with 20 laps to go. With 15 laps to go Bobby Labonte spins out, Kurt Busch hits him and bring out the caution. Jr and Johnson are in to get tires because they ran over some of the debris. Johnson is 25th and Jr is 27th. They're having over heating issues because of the debris on their grills. With 8 laps to go Regan Smith is in the wall and Jr and Johnson again must pit for tires because they ran through debris. Jr is 16th and Johnson 19th. On the green/white checker restart they get shuffled back to 25th and 26th because they had to switch places for the over heating issue. This created drag and sucked them back. Not a good day. The plan was a bust. Jr stays at 9th in the standings. Johnson stays in 7th.

KURT BUSCH - His tandem partner is Regan Smith. They have as quiet a day you can have at Dega as you can get hanging around 15th thru 20th. They worked extremely well together even getting to lead a lap for a bonus point. That is until with 15 laps to go Bobby Labonte spins out and Kurt has no where to go but into Bobby's car. Heavy front end damage puts him in the hauler in 36th place 15 laps down. He loses a spot and goes to 8th in the standings.

KYLE BUSCH - His dance partner is team mate Joey Logano. Kyle leads lap 34 for that bonus point. Things are going smoothly till lap 67 when trying to go into the pits under green flag conditions, Trevor Bayne clips Logano sending him spinning. He misses the pit road commitment cone and now must go around the track again. On the way his right front tire blows out tearing up his fender and bringing out the debris caution on lap 68. Kyle wants them to fix it best they can because he wants to work with Logano. Logano is in the pits for 3 laps and comes out in 39th so he ends up partnering with Hamlin. They have radio issues. Kyle can talk to Denny but Denny can't talk to Kyle. On lap 96 Kyle leadsa lap with Denny pushing. On lap 104 Allmendinger goes for a spin. Takes out Kyle. To the garage we go for repairs. He's back on the track in 38th and 11 laps down with 81 laps to go. He ends his day 33 and 13 laps down. He loses 2 spots and drops to 6th in the standings.

KEVIN HARVICK - Decided on team mate Paul Menard as tandem partner. He leads some laps and puts Hamlin down a lap on lap 21. The Harvick/Menard tandem hang out around 10th most of the day till disaster strikes on lap 104 when Allmendinger spins out taking Harvick out. Heavy front end damage. Harvick limps back to the pits. He's in and out for repairs and ends up 36th and 2 laps down at lap 110. With 64 laps to go Harvick is complaining of smoke in the car. With 62 laps to go NASCAR is encouraging them to fix the smoking 29 car. With 61 to go Harvick is black flagged and told he will come in to fix the car now. He's off to the garage where all team members from the RCR stable are all over the car trying to fix the front end damage and replace the broken oil cooler. He's back on the track at 37th and 7 laps down. For the rest of the race he just rides the apron but at speed so as not to be black flagged again. Comes in 32 and 9 laps down. Drops from 2nd to 5th in the standings.

BRAD KESELOWSKI - Hooked up with Dave Blaney as his tandem partner. They too had a quiet day hanging in the back most of the day. With 71 laps to go they're hanging around the top 10. They slide back to the 20's and with 25 to go they're in the top 10 again. With 20 to go they're leading and just that quick with 13 to go they're in 18th and 19th. On the last restart they're 14th and 15th. They bring it home 3rd and 4th giving Keselowski a 3 spot jump in the standings to 3rd.

MATT KENSETH - His pick for tandem is team mate David Ragan. They lead lap number 4 for that bonus point. They hang out in the top 10 most of the day. With 71 laps to go they're in the lead. With 20 to go they're 5th and 6th. With the restart at 3 laps to go they're 12th and 13th. Some how they get separated and Kenseth is picked up by Bayne. He comes home in 18th. Moves up one spot to 2nd in the points.

CARL EDWARDS - Tandem partner was Greg Biffle. These guys hung out in the back but waited too long to make their way to the front. The wrecks caused them to have to pit for tires because they ran over debris. At 13 laps to go they're 23rd and 26th. At the last restart with 3 laps to go they're still there. Edwards manages to get an 11th place finish. He keeps his points lead.

POINTS STANDINGS - Edwards 2237 - Kenseth 2223 - Keselowski 2219 - Stewart 2218 - Harvick 2211 - Ky Busch 2197 - Johnson 2187 - Ku Busch 2185 - Earnhardt Jr 2163 - Gordon 2155 - Hamlin 2153 - Newman 2149

As it stands right now realistically there are 5 guys in this Chase that could take it. Harvick in 5th place and 26 points down is the last guy in my opinion. Any thing can happen but Ky Busch is next at 40 points down and it only gets worse from there. Johnson is 50 points back and I really think he's done. No number 6 on the horizon for the 48 team. Martinsville is the next oval on the list. It's a tough track and not one of Edward's of Kenseth's best. So possibly We could see a big change in the points. Like I keep saying about this year, it's just so crazy and unpredictable. Talladega hit some of the drivers hard just like we knew it would. When the dust settled we have 5 realistic contenders. Or do we?

You all have a great week.....

Sunday's race at Las Vegas was supposed to be a celebratory occasion; The crowning of a champion, Danica's farewell to IndyCar, and a chance at $5,000,000 dollars. However, after a 15 car crash on lap 10, nobody was celebrating. The concern immediately went to those involved in the crash, and those injured. Namely, Dan Wheldon. Wheldon was the only of the drivers airlifted to the hospital, and then came the agonizing two-plus hours of waiting for word on the two-time Indy 500 winner and previous champion. 

A silence swept over the garage area and the race track. After hours of waiting, IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard broke the tragic news that Dan Wheldon had unfortunately passed away from "unsurvivable injuries." 

The remaining 19 drivers decided to pay tribute to Dan by performing a 5 lap salute around the track in remembrance of their friend and colleague.

Over the years, Wheldon had matured into a very respected family man. He won the Indy 500 twice, as recently as this year when he passed JR Hildebrand on the last lap after Hildebrand struck the Turn 4 wall. Everyone had nothing but kind words to say about Dan. He was often characterized as one of the nicest and most popular drivers in the series. One thing is for certain, the auto racing world certainly lost one great man on Sunday. My thoughts, and the thoughts of the auto racing world are with his wife Susie and their two children.

Besides mourning the loss of Wheldon, IndyCar certainly has a dilemma on it's hands. Many fans, writers, and even drivers were critical with the decision to race a record-setting field of 34 cars on a 1.5 mile oval where there is no lifting off the throttle, speeds are regularly at 220-225 miles per hour, and nobody can really break away from the pack. 

IndyCar might not be the same without ovals, but I believe they need to be more selective in what ovals they choose to race on. None of these 1.5-2 mile ovals designed for NASCAR. IndyCars shouldn't be racing on these type of tracks at much higher speeds. They need to bring back the 1 mile ovals like Loudon and Milwaukee and forgot about the high-speed ovals other than of course, Indianapolis. The smaller and flatter ovals like Loudon and Milwaukee allow the race to be much more in the hands of the driver. The tracks actually take skill to race at, unlike the pack racing that is a by-product of tracks like Vegas. As we've seen over the year, it doesn't take much for these cars to get airborne. Kenny Brack and Ryan Briscoe had memorable crashes at Texas and Chicagoland where both launched into the catchfence. Luckily, both are still with us today. Sadly, in Wheldon's case, that isn't the case primarily due to the fact that when his car launched into the air, it flipped over and he hit the catchfence cockpit side/helmet first. 

So, what is IndyCar to do? If they really wish to race on the bigger ovals like this, they need to make a safer car. Ironically, Wheldon was a main tester of the new Dallara car that will be used in 2012 which is reportedly safer. Still, either IndyCar has to find a way to prevent these cars from racing in such huge packs at such high speeds, or they need to find a way to keep the cars from going airborne so easily. In Sunday's crash, 4 cars went airborne, including Wheldon. The other three were those of Will Power, Pippa Mann, and Townsend Bell. 

If IndyCar can't address the current safety concerns with aerodynamic improvements, then they need to reduce the speed. Another thing that I would like to see added is a "pod" around the cockpit to protect the driver. That may factor into the extraction time if a terrible incident were to occur, but it will surely prevent the driver(s) from slamming into the wall/fence helmet first. 

Welcome to the Chase Race #5 wrap up. Where a 5 time champs 6-pete goes into the wall, a 4 time champ gets buried in the points and the point standings get a tad bit tighter. The cars looked great under the lights as usual. The cool night air gave the cars much needed speed but posed great danger to possible blown motors. We only saw a couple of those but not our chase contenders. Lady Luck played a heavy hand in the out come of this race. A track position is every thing race that had cautions at some bad places for some of our Chase contenders. Some made it work and some didn't. Onward and up ward.

Starting positions - Stewart Pole Position - Kenseth 3rd - Edwards 4th - Johnson 6th - Newman 7th - Harvick 13th - Earnhardt Jr 15th - Hamlin 19th - Gordon 20th - Kurt Busch 22nd - Kyle Busch 25th (started from 43rd due to engine change rule) - Keselowski 26th

BRAD KESELOWSKI - This poor guy just couldn't get his car dialed in right all day. Pit strategy never came into play because of his handling issues. Spent most of the day around 26th and with 75 laps to go he's one lap down in 17th. Brings it home in 16th and 1 lap down. Drops 2 spots in the standings to 6th.

KYLE BUSCH - Qualified 25th but during race prep maintenance the crew break off a bolt in the engine and have to change it out. As per NASCAR's engine change rule, he has to go to the back of the pack. By lap 100 he's in 16th and griping that you just can't do anything out here. By lap 150 he's in 2nd. Not bad for a guy who started dead last. By lap 200 he comes out of the pits in 1st. Keeps it till lap 309 when Kenseth takes it from him. He moves up 4 spots from 8th to 4th place in the points with a 2nd place finish. Of course he's not happy with that.

KURT BUSCH - Just like his team mate Keselowski he too has handling issues all race long. He hangs out around 16th most of the day and goes down a lap at one point but finishes the day in 13th. Drops one place to 7th in the standings.

JEFF GORDON - Handling issues all day for out 4 time champ. When the caution comes out on lap 238 because Trevor Bayne runs out of fuel Gordon is one of only 12 cars who didn't pit during green flag pit stops. Lucky break. He's now in 12th. But on lap 293 He gets into it with Kasey Kahne and David Ragan, Spins out, tires are flat spotted and comes out of the pits in 22nd and one lap down. Not so lucky. He ends the race in 20th and one lap down. Drops one more spot to 11th in the standings.

DENNY HAMLIN - Solid day for Denny. Starts out in 19th and slowly works his way up to 5th by lap 175 and finishes out his day with a 9th place finish. He's buried in the 12th place though. He won't be crawling out any time in the next 5 races.

DALE  EARNHARDT JR - What can you say about Jr except that every week he's got an issue that keeps him from a good finish. Maybe he and Tony Romo are brother and don't know it. They sure have the same issue. Flashes of brilliance but no substance. He floats between 15th and 20th all day and with like 83 laps to go he has a tire issue. Now he's 2 laps down in 30th. Finishes his day in 18th, 1 lap down. He's still in 9th in the points standings.

KEVIN HARVICK - Solid day for Happy Harvick. He spends the first 150 laps around 15th and works his way to 10th with 75 laps to go. Was also one of the lucky ones to not have pitted on lap 238. Gets caught a lap down on lap 287 during green flag pit stops Dave Blaney's engine goes up in smoke. But Harvick, Johnson and Stewart get the wave around to stay on the lead lap but they're behind everybody. Good thing because Gordon gets into his scuffle on lap 293. Harvick goes into the pits for grass on the grill and tires. He manages a pit strategy 6th place finish and keeps 2nd place in the standings 5 points down from the leader. 

RYAN NEWMAN - Newman spends the most of his day in the top 10. Between lap 200 and up to 75 to go he falls to 15th but the cautions are good to him and he finishes 10th. Gordons bad luck gives him the 10th spot in the standings.

JIMMIE JOHNSON - Jimmie was on a tear hanging in the top 5 till the caution on lap 147 for debris in turns 3 & 4. He's back to 17th and handling issues begin. On lap 238 Trevor Baynes fuel running out brings out a caution in the middle of green flag pit stops. Jimmie is given the wave around and is now the last car on the lead lap in 14th. Trevor comes out in 33rd 3 laps down. On lap 287 Dave Blaney's engine goes up in smoke as Johnson is completing a green flag pit stop. Again he's given a wave around to stay on the lead lap in 13th place. On lap 293 his team mate Gordon is in a scuffle and he must pit for tires and grass on his grill. Comes out of the pits in 11th. With 18 laps to go Jimmie is fighting over 7th position with Newman and loses. He's into the wall nose first. Was a vicious hit and Jimmie is dazed. Thank you to NASCAR for the safer walls, HANS neck device and car safety innovations because unlike Dan Wheldon, Jimmie walks away. He comes home in 34th and 18 laps down. Loses 5 positions and lands in 8th in the points standings.

CARL EDWARDS - Superb day for Edwards. Hangs in the top 5 all day. No car , pit or track issues to speak of. Very clean race for Edwards and he gets a 3rd place finish to keep his points lead by 5 points over Harvick.

MATT KENSETH - Also a superb day for Edwards team mate. Stayed in the top 5 most of the day with no issues on the track, pits or car. A win for Kenseth takes him up from 5th to 3rd in the standings.

TONY STEWART - Stayed in the top 5 most of the day leading the first 50 laps and then again for about 50 more around the half way mark. During green flag pit stops Tony gets caught a lap down when Bayne's is out of fuel and caution comes out on lap 238. He gets the lucky dog and more fuel. He's now in 12th and the car won't roll through the center.  Again Stewart gets caught a lap down on the lap 287 caution for Dave Blaneys engine going up in smoke. He gets the wave around with Harvick and Johnson. Biffle gets the lucky dog. With Gordon's spin on lap 293 Stewart gets up to 9th. BUT on the restart Biffle and Stewart are fighting over track real estate and Biffle ends up riding the wall and bringing out a caution. Stewart goes into the pits for tires and fender pull out. He's now 13th with 30 to go. With 18 to go Jimmie loses his battle over 7th place with Newman, hits the wall and brings out a caution. Stewart goes in for fresh tires and more fender pulling. With 10 to go he's 9th. He only gains one spot for an 8th place finish. He does however move up to 5th in the point standings. A 2 point gain but it breaths life back into his chase.

POINTS STANDINGS - Edwards 2203 - Harvick 2198 - Kenseth 2196 - Ky Busch 2185 - Stewart 2179 - Keselowski 2178 - Ku Busch 2176 - Johnson 2168 - Earnhardt Jr 2143 - Newman 2142 - Gordon 2137 - Hamlin 2117

At this point with 5 races to go unless the top 3 guys really have some bad stuff happen like DNF's or getting caught laps down, I think Johnson is now out. He's 35 points behind Edwards. It's possible to crawl out but he's in a very deep hole. Gordon is done. as is Jr, Newman and Hamlin.

Next week on 10-23-11 is Talladega located in Alabama for the Good Sam Club 400 on Sunday afternoon at 2pm. Talladegs Superspeedway is a 2.66 mile tri-oval shaped track. Records there include Awesome Bill Elliot's qualifying stock car speed record of 212.809 mph back in 1987,  Mark Martin 1997 caution free spring race winning average speed of 188.354 mph and Dale Earnhardt Sr's 10 wins. There's been some changes mandated to the restricter plates. The holes will now be a 64th of an inch bigger to allow a tad bit more air into the carburetor and gaining 7 - 10 more horse power. Also to counter act the 2 car tandem draft they will be lowering the set point on the radiator pressure relief valve so that the car will run hotter when the radiator is blocked from getting air during these 2 car tandem drafts. Will this help with better racing? Who knows. Dega is a crap shoot. LUCK IS THIS DETERMINATING FACTOR IN THIS RACE. I am not a fan of this race track nor can I even begin to pick a potential winner because it is such a crap shoot. So you can all tune in with me to see if you like or wait for my wrap up.

You all have a great day.......

Welcome to the Kansas City race wrap up. Where a drivers drive for 5 championships most likely went up in smoke with his motor,  a driver nicknamed Smoke detonated in the pits, the 5 time champ is back in dominating form and a young upstart is showing the old guard how it's done.

First let me start out by defining green/white/checker. It's a 2 lap shoot out when a caution comes at the end of a race and the caution laps eat up the remaining laps. Every one is given the option to pit for tires, fuel and adjustments. The green flag is dropped for lap one. Then the white flag comes out for lap 2. If nobody spins or wrecks before the leader gets the white flag then it's off to the finish line. They get 3 attempts at a GWC. 

STARTING POSITIONS : Edwards 2nd - Kyle B 3rd - Kenseth 4th - Hamlin 7th - Gordon 10th - Newman 11th - Keselowski 12th - Harvick 14th - Kurt B 17th - Dale Jr 18th - Johnson 19th

DENNY HAMLIN - Still on the bottom but his days are improving. Got as high as 2nd through pit strategy and hung out around 12th most of the day but a 16th place finish keeps him in 12th. He won't see a championship this year.

RYAN NEWMAN - This is week number 2 he is down a lap most of the race and hanging in the 20's. Did manage to bring it home in 18th on the lead lap. Still I'm guessing he too is out of contention.

DALE EARNHARDT JR - Quiet ho hum day spent between 9th and 14th place. Brings it home 14th. Not seeing a chance for the fan fave here either.

JEFF GORDON - Great day spent in the top 5 until 35 laps to go when the oil temp started rising. With 3 laps to go his motor went up in smoke (most likely his drive for 5 with it) and he brought it home in 34th and 8 laps down.

KYLE BUSCH - Spent most of his day between 5th and 10th. If it weren't the 4th race in the chase and if he weren't 8th in the standings a 11th place finish would be great. He's on the edge. He needs a win or 2 to stay in it.

MATT KENSETH - Silently worked his way into a 4th place finish. Earned him a better chase position and he's definitely still in it. 

BRAD KESELOWSKI - This kid has a good crew chief. He's thinking outside the box and Brad is keeping a level head. It's paying off. With pit strategy he got out front and again brings home a great finish of 3rd. Track position is king right now and they capitalized on it. His championship hopes are alive and well.

JIMMIE JOHNSON - There's a reason Harvick didn't count Jimmie down and out when all the nay sayers were doing just that. Jimmie went from 19th to 1st in less than 26 laps. The champ is making a statement. He led the most laps and won the race. This nets him the max of 48 points. He is now firmly in the hunt for #6.

KURT BUSCH - Just couldn't get the car dialed in most of te day. He was in or around 16th most of the day but with the green/white/checker finish he foolishly gave up track position, pitted and brought it home in 13th. Still in the hunt but like his brother, it will be a struggle.

TONY STEWART - Started out in 23rd and by lap 26 he's in 6th. By lap 100 he's in 2nd. Great day all day till a late pit stop to get fuel sends him back to 11th. Makes his way up to 9th when Gordons motor goes up in smoke and a green/white/checker is now a reality. He foolishly goes into the pits for tires and slides into his pit stall. This ruins his stop and sends him back to 16th on the restart. Great day gone bad. Finishes 15th. He's still in the hunt but if he loses the championship then he can look to lap 265 at Kansas and say that was the nail.

CARL EDWARDS - Carl's day started out in 2nd but went sour quick. By lap 26 he was in 19th. He was one lap down in 17th at one point. Finally turned it around to bring it home in 5th. He now holds the points lead.

KEVIN HARVICK - A quiet day spent with his nose to the grindstone. He keeps his championship hopes steady with a 6th place finish.

POINTS STANDINGS - EDWARDS 2161 - HARVICK 2160 - JOHNSON 2157 - KESELOWSKI 2150 - KENSETH 2149 - KURT B 2145 - STEWART 2142 - KYLE B 2141 - DALE JR 2118 - GORDON 2114 - NEWMAN 2107 - HAMLIN 2082

Looking at the points I'm thinking that the last 4 guys are out. Twenty points to make up is doable. With 43 points behind the leader (starting with Jr) or more not so much. Sad to say but I'm thinking my man Stewart may have pit stopped his way out of the championship but next week is a new race.

We're off to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 500. A quad oval shaped track with 24 degree banking in the turns and 5 degrees on the straight aways. Last years winner was Jamie McMurray. I'm looking for Kenseth and Kyle to be a factor here. But with all the strange happenings in this years season, you just can't pick a winner and trying to predict the 2011 Champ is still too soon to try. So on Saturday night I'll sit and scream at my TV hoping Stewart pulls through and an upset happens to put him back on top. One can only hope.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.